Atul Kasbekar Talks About Life Post-'Neerja' And The Book He Is Not Writing, Among Other Things

The first words that come to mind when you think of Atul Kasbekar is ace photographer, Bollywood, models, celebrity management, Bling Global. But, that’s only until you meet the man behind the name. Then you realize, that the image is just what you assume about a person and a name is no more than an association with that image. Yes, he is, indeed, an ace photographer, a celebrity manager and a film producer. But, you strip the titles and you’re sitting face to face with an eternal optimist who just believes that if you believe long enough in something, it’s going to come to you eventually. He is as chilled out as the guy sitting on the table opposite yours at a pub, taking life as it comes.

In a very candid conversation, he spills the beans on his life, the making of Neerja, his work and sets the record straight on how he isn’t actually writing a book, contrary to what’s in the news.

“That story was blown out of proportion actually,” he starts. “What happened was I had an outline of a story idea and I ran it by my friend of 20 years, Ram Madhavani, who is also the director of Neerja. The story is about a genre nobody’s done yet and he loved it! Essentially, we will be engaging professional screenwriters to flesh it out and if it turns out to be something great, we will do the entire script.” So, no book coming anytime soon, guys. But, if ever Atul were to write a book about himself, he already knows what the title of that would be! “It’s a long title,” he reveals. I prod him on a little more. “It will be called If A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words, And I Shot A Million, Did I Say Too Much?” But, for Atul, it’s more visual than verbal. “If you say something to me, in my head, it usually plays out like a scene,” he explains. “So something may not be that funny, but because I visualize it in my head, it becomes funnier. I can amuse myself to a point. But, the fact of the matter remains that I’m the only one who gets the joke sometimes.” We now know where he gets his inspiration from!

Atul Kasbekar is still reeling from the success of his debut film production, Neerja, starring Sonam Kapoor and directed by good friend Ram Madhavani. “It was 2 years in the making,” he reveals. “Ram (Madhavani) has a certain process about him and Sonam is a director’s actress. So, she surrendered entirely to Ram’s vision and the rest, as they say is history!” The movie is immensely special to Atul which could be one of the reasons why it translated into a special film for the masses, as well; he left no stone unturned.

“It’s a lot like being a conductor on an office job,” Atul confesses, when I ask him about life as a producer post-Neerja. “You’re trying to create a very good symphony; but you’re not playing the violin solo yourself. You have to make sure that all the departments are in sync together and if you get a few notes wrong, there goes your melody! So, you need to make sure all the parts are working harmoniously together,” he explains.

Post his success, the scripts are pouring in for Atul and his team. “Within a month or so, we should be able to announce something and should have one on the floors by the end of the year,” he informs.

Between shooting for magazine covers, brand campaigns, managing celebrities and reading scripts, you would think a man like Atul would not have the time to breathe. Au contraire, he has everything quite well balanced out. “I’m actually a reasonably organized person,” he quips. “In my case, no matter what time I sleep, or what intoxicant I have had the night previous, I always wake up at a fixed time—7am. I can’t sleep late, period,” he says. He works out till about 9am, likes brewing his own coffee, followed by some breakfast. “I also read a lot—anything and everything that passes my desk or iPad,” he adds. Currently, Atul is flipping between four different books—‘Mystic’s Musings’ by Jaggi Vasudev (better known as Sadhguru, a popular mystic of our times), Arsene Wenger by John Cross, ‘The Kiss Of Life’ by Emraan Hashmi and ‘The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared’ by Jonas Jonasson.

One of the greatest joys of his life, he says, is watching a football match with his son. “As long as he still thinks I’m cool enough to watch it with him, that’s good,” he jokes.

Atul’s journey spans over some 20 years in photography and more than 10 years in celebrity management. “I think I’ve realized that my inherent skill is people management,” he muses. “I would not actually recommend being a jack of all trades to anyone. It’s just that I have the attention span of a grasshopper, am a very good time manager and have been quite fortunate because I have had very lucky people around me.” But at the very core, Atul is a photographer. “I love to get a good portrait out of anybody and no two pictures are alike,” he shares. The one thing he can never stop doing is portraiture. “I genuinely enjoy faces and dealing with people,” he says.

But how did a chemical engineering student end up becoming one of the most celebrated names in the industry today? Courtesy goes to celebrated Indian ad filmmaker, Prahlad Kakkar, whom Atul met some 25 years ago. The first thing Kakkar asked him was ‘What do you enjoy doing and why don’t you do what you enjoy?’ “And then, he told me, ‘95% of humanity goes to work. 5% of humanity never works a day in their life. That’s because they love what they do.’”

Patience, Atul says, is a great virtue. And optimism. “I stay away from people who tend to be negative and whiny about everything,” he says. “You really have a decent life, if you think about it. Yes, it can be better; but look around you and you’ll see you’re in a better place than most. So, what are you complaining about?” He is perceptive of people and their energies. “People who are positive and look forward to things are the ones you should surround yourself with,” he tells me.

Twenty-five years later, Atul Kasbekar is a name that can queue up a line of people waiting to work with the man; be it in photography, campaigns, celebrities, or movies! “I love waking up to an adventure every morning,” he shares excitedly. Atul is in a great place—all the aces lie with the ace right now. “I’m trying to see if I can put together an exhibition,” he announces. “It’s a conceptual idea and it has the potential to be a huge initiative,” he reveals. Why not books, then? I ask him. “The exhibition could translate into a book if it goes well,” he says. We’re hoping it does!